The Commish

The Commish
[DVD Commish]

Viewers familiar with Michael Chiklis' gritty portrayal of Vic Mackey on The Shield may be surprised to see his earlier starring role as Tony Scali, the police commisioner of fictional Eastbridge, NY. In this series from Stephen J. Cannell, the producer who brought us The Rockford Files, Wiseguy, The A-Team, The Greatest American Hero, Hunter and Silk Stalkings (just to name a few), the emphasis was placed equally on Tony Scali's work and home lives -- at work, there were police cases to be supervised and crimes to be solved, often featuring very quirky or comical characters; on the homefront, he had a wife and a son to take care of. There was a terrific supporting cast to The Commish, which changed over the seasons, as actors came and went. The Commish was more of a "gentle" show, emphasizing the character foibles with humor, but it didn't shy away from serious storylines and dramatic moments. And, most importantly, it gave Michael Chiklis a chance to really shine on screen. I recommend this to anyone who's a fan of classic "cop" shows from the 1970s and 1980s, but who's not really into the "gritty" ensemble shows like Hill Street Blues or NYPD Blue. -- recommended by Scott C. - Bennett Martin Public Library [subscribe to Scott's monthly "It's All Geek to Me!" booklist newsletter or any of the 35+ other newsletters available through the libraries Books, Movies & More email newsletter service!]

[ Internet Movie Database entry for this series ] | [ The Commish episode guide at epguides.com ]

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R.I.P. Stephen J. Cannell, 1941-2010

R.I.P. Stephen J. Cannell, 1941-2010
Originally uploaded by BookGuide at LCL

Legendary television producer Stephen J. Cannell -- creator of The Rockford Files, The Greatest American Hero, Wiseguy, The A-Team, Silk Stalkings, Profit, 21 Jump Street and Baa Baa Black Sheep, and the novelist behind the popular Shane Scully thriller series, died September 30th, 2010 at his home in California, of complications from melanoma. He was 69 years old.

Cannell was one of television's most successful independent producers of action-adventure dramas throughout the 1980s and early 1990s; at one point in the late 80s, he had 5 of his series on the air simultaneously. Cannell originally had tremendous difficulty in school, as he suffered from the reading disability dyslexia. He persevered until college, when a creative writing teacher encouraged him to continue writing despite his difficulties.

In the 1970s, he became a story editor on ADAM 12, for producer Jack Webb, and continued to write and produce series such as THE ROCKFORD FILES and BARETTA for Universal, with Roy Huggins serving as a working mentor to him. In 1979, he launched his own independent tv production company, so as to have greater creative and financial control over the series he created, and went on to tremendous success. Having been mentored successfully, he served as the mentor to many others in the industry and was always willing to share writing tips with up-and-coming writers.

Throughout the years, his personal goal was to become a best-selling novelist, and after his company got out of television production in the late 1990s, he finally got the chance to live out his dream. He is the author of over 15 bestsellers, including 9 in the Shane Scully series; a tenth is due later in October.

More information about Cannell is available at:

His official web site

and dozens of other web sites across the internet.

Cannell and Evanovich team up?

Has anybody read anything -- details please -- about one of my favorite authors, Stephen J. Cannell, teaming up with mega-best-selling author Janet Evanovich, for a new November collaborative novel?

Amazon page for the book

Scott